TENDRING has been awash with giant octopuses since June, but the much-loved Octopus Ahoy! art trail is coming to an end on Monday 6th September. 30 large and 61 small octopuses will now leave their temporary residencies overnight with the larger, and a handful of the smaller, sculptures going up for auction for charity. Highly regarded auctioneers, Reeman Dansie, will be conducting the auction, with online bidding for the iconic sculptures commencing on Wednesday 15th September ahead of the live auction at Le Talbooth on Thursday 23rd September.
The hugely popular art trail has seen over 22 million steps taken by intrepid explorers on the app, with the sculptures found more than 103,000 times. Many of the prize draws, which app users were entered into when finding certain sculptures, will also be drawn on Monday 6th September, including the chance to win a Colchester Zoo family pass, a Samsung tablet and much more. The large sculptures, alongside a handful of smaller ones, will now go up for sale to the highest bidder to raise as much as possible for Tendring good causes.
Katie Skingle, Director at KAT Marketing, said: “Thank you so much to all of the intrepid explorers who have got out and found all of our wonderful Octopus Ahoy! art trail, it’s been a fantastic success and the feedback from the public has been truly wonderful. Now it’s time for these incredible works of art to go up for sale for charity and some fantastic causes. They are now a big part of the history of Tendring so it’s a once in a lifetime chance to buy a piece of local folklore, especially the stunning ‘Take Me to the Banksy’, or the beautiful ‘Autograph’ which is an homage to the suffragettes, signed by a direct descendant of Mrs Pankhurst herself.
“These fabulous works of art always raise thousands of pounds for charity, and we know they will again, so make sure you bid for your favourite! ”
The Octopus Ahoy! auction is to be held at Le Talbooth on Thursday 23rd September. For more information, visit www.octopusahoy.co.uk.
